Flu Baby
by xobabygurlxo
Summary: *Follow Up to "A Man's Guilt"* Don Flack feels guilty, again, but he has to get over it to care for Kate, who is very sick with the flu. D/OC
1. Sick

Disclaimer: Not Mine!

A/N: Had to write this, it kept bothering me. Thanks for reading! Takes place six months after the end of _ A Man's Guilt_.

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He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it.

Six months after his girlfriend got shot, Don Flack was back at the hospital. Him in the waiting room, her inside. He couldn't believe this was happening again.

He knew she hadn't been feeling well. She would walk around the apartment coughing and sneezing, rubbing her sore throat, all the signs that told Flack she was sick. But, being as stubborn as she was, she never admitted to it.

"I'm fine," she would say. "It's just stress."

The one time he reminded her she didn't really have anything to be stressed about, he ended up sleeping on the couch for a couple nights. From then on, he just let her say what she wanted. He knew she was sick.

Even their dog, Bendel, knew she was sick. When she'd lay in bed sneezing or coughing, he'd curl up next to her, trying to get her to feel better. Flack was sure the dog hated him, because every time he got around Kate, the dog growled at him. Damn dog. It was Flack who bought the stupid thing in the first place.

But now, here he was again. Flack pacing the waiting room, waiting to hear any kind of news. And, once again, she had collapsed after another one of their famous fights.

_The whole team was going out for drinks to celebrate the catching of a serial killer. Flack had called Kate to join them when he was leaving the station, which was an hour ago. She had plenty of time to get dressed, if she had to, and join them. The bar was only a ten minute cab ride from her and Flack's apartment, but she still wasn't there. _

_Flack started to get worried, and decided to call her to see where she was. He called her cell. No answer. He called the house phone. No answer. That wasn't a good sign. Kate always answered at least one of the phones. _

_Flack told the team he was heading home, but that he'd be right back. He got in his car, and drove to the apartment. When he got there, he saw her laying on the bed, with jeans and a tank top on, fast asleep. He sighed in frustration and went over to her, waking her up. _

_"Hey, what's wrong with you? You don't answer the phone anymore?" he asked as she woke up slowly on the bed. _

_"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear it ring. I must've dozed off," she said. He noticed for a brief second how weak she sounded, but he pushed past it._

_"Dozed off? What, like you don't get enough alone time here all day?"_

_"Don, please, I'm tired. I don't want to fight."_

_"Yeah," Flack said, "Well I didn't wanna be standing in a bar wondering where the hell my girlfriend was."_

_"You just said I'm always here," she pointed out, getting up to put some shoes on and grab her purse. Bendel was crying on the bed. He hated when his parents fought. _

_"I just caught a serial killer who raped and murdered ten different women, just because they walked past him the wrong way. Excuse me for being concerned about you," he said, brushing her comment off. _

_"Donnie, please," she pleaded, trying to balance herself while she put a shoe on. _

_"It's just amazing, Kate. You won't go see a doctor, even though everyone knows you're sick and you won't answer your phone, even though you know this job gets me paranoid enough to think you could be dead somewhere. You disappoint me, Kate, really." Flack walked out of the room, heading to go out without her, when he heard a crash from the bedroom. He raced back in, and saw Kate lying on the floor. She must've passed out and fallen over while she was putting her shoes on. He pushed Bendel aside – the dog was barking like crazy now – and told him to go to bed, while Flack tended to Kate. She had a pulse, but it seemed weak. It was only then he realized how hot she was. She must've had a fever. He lifted her up, placing her gently on the bed. He ran into the bathroom, grabbing a thermometer, and took her temperature. 106. Not good. He immediately called an ambulance, and that's how he ended up at the hospital. _

The team was waiting with him. Lindsay, of course, was distraught over having to be here a second time within a year for her little sister. Stella was comforting her, while Danny, Mac, and Hawkes sat nearby. Flack was pacing back and forth, blaming himself again.

It was only a matter of time before a doctor finally came out. Flack attacked him with questions, before the doctor could even introduce himself. "Miss Monroe has a very intense, severe case of the flu," he explained. "She has a very high fever that we have to monitor, as well as the usual symptoms that go with the flu: headache, sneezing, coughing, fatigue, and chills. This condition of the flu is very serious, so we'll have to keep her here for a few days, maybe even a week or so."

Flack just nodded along to everything the doctor was saying. The flu? Flack didn't realize people could get seriously ill from the flu, he thought it was mostly for kids and the elderly. And looking back on it, she had been weak and feverish the past day or so. Damnit, he should've just taken her to the hospital as soon as she started sneezing.

"Can we see her, doctor?" Lindsay asked, breaking Flack out of his inner guilt trip.

"She's awake, but I wouldn't if I were you. The flu is very contagious," he explained.

"We all got flu shots, and we can wear masks," Lindsay reasoned. "Please, she's my sister."

The doctor sighed, but agreed. He arranged for the team to get some masks from the nurses so they could go in, but as he was doing this, Flack walked away. He wanted to see her, obviously, but he didn't think _she'd_ want to see _him_, and she was the sick one. He just watched from a distance as the rest of the team went in to see her. He kicked the wall behind him, and walked off to the cafeteria.

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Kate was laying there in agony, when she saw her sister rush in. "Hi," she croaked out.

"Oh, Katie," Lindsay gushed, "How are you feeling?"

A few tears fell from Kate's eyes. "Not well," she said, and laughed once before crying silently again. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"It's not your fault," Stella said. "You didn't realize it would be this bad."

"Donnie kept telling me I was sick, but I didn't listen. I don't want to be sick," Kate cried. It was then that the team realized Flack wasn't there, but no one moved to say anything.

"It's gonna be OK, honey," Lindsay said. "You're going to be just fine." Lindsay ran her hand through Kate's hair, and it scared her how hot her baby sister felt.

Kate calmed down a bit before realizing there was someone missing. "Where's Don?" she asked.

The team looked at each other. They didn't know. He _was_ there. So they lied. "He'll be here as soon as he can," Lindsay said. "He's so worried about you."

"OK," Kate said, weakly. The team decided to let her rest, and left so she could try to get some sleep.

Walking out of her room, the team turned Kate's question amongst themselves. "Where the hell did Flack go?" Danny asked.

"He was here," Stella said. "Maybe he's sick too."

"No," Mac said, "He couldn't bear to see Kate like that." Everyone agreed that must've been it. They walked out, figuring Kate was in good hands, and didn't see Don beating himself up in the café.


	2. Cold

It was a couple days later, and Flack still hadn't gone in to see Kate. Every time someone suggested it, or told him she wanted to see him, he'd make up some excuse. He had to work. He had to take care of the dog. He had to do laundry. The list got longer and longer. Kate was getting sicker, not better, and she only wanted to see Don. Finally, Lindsay took matters into her own hands.

She got to the hospital to see Flack sitting outside Kate's room. She went over and sat next to him. "Have you seen her, yet?" she asked.

He shamefully shook his head. "I can't, Linds," he said.

"Why not? What are you so afraid of?"

Flack sighed. "That she won't want to see me?" he said, as if asking a question.

"You're the only person she _wants_ to see. She keeps asking about you and Bendel. She wants you, Flack."

Flack sighed again. "The last thing I said to her was that she disappointed me. How can I face her now that she's in this condition?"

Lindsay rubbed his back. "She obviously isn't thinking of that. She just wants you to sit and talk with her."

Flack shook his head. "I don't know if I can. I'm not good at this sorta thing."

"You were great with her when she was shot. You were here every day, and you took such great care of her afterward. It's the same thing. You can do it, Flack."

Lindsay got up, going off to get something to drink. Flack thought about what she said, and she was right. He had been there before, he could do it again. So, Flack grabbed one of the masks the team had been using, and opened the door.

Kate looked miserable. Sure, he had seen worse, like when she was bleeding profusely from the abdomen, but she was awake this time, and looked like hell. Her face was red, she was sweating, but yet shaking at the same time; she was coughing and sneezing a lot, but yet her watery eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Donnie," she whispered, her throat too sore to speak properly. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm so sorry," she said, in between coughs and her eyes watering even more.

Don couldn't take it. Finally seeing her, he had to go to her. He grabbed her hand, and ran his hand over her forehead. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"For being sick. I don't mean to be."

Don had to laugh at her. "I know you don't. It's not your fault, OK? I just want you better. It's awkward at home without you. That dog of yours hates me, and won't listen. I think he misses you."

Kate smiled. "Of course he does. You just don't know how to talk to him."

"He's a dog! I'm not supposed to talk to him, he's just supposed to obey me!" Flack said, smiling behind his mask. She just rolled her eyes, and coughed some more. "I'm sorry I haven't been in to see you, babe. How are you feeling?"

More tears fell from Kate's eyes. "I'm miserable, Donnie. I hate it. It's the worst thing ever. I'm so tired, but I can't sleep because I keep coughing and sneezing, and everyone keeps telling me I'm hot, but I'm actually freezing and can't stop shaking."

Don felt so bad, and so mad at himself. How could he have not come to see her sooner? She felt so ill, and he didn't know what to say to comfort her. So he just kept saying some semi-comforting things that he was sure she had heard before, and rubbing her hand. A nurse came in to interrupt them with a basin of cold water and a washcloth. Don said he'd take care of it.

As soon as the nurse left, Don took the washcloth and soaked it in cold water. He rung it out, and pressed it to Kate's forehead. She shivered in response. "Are you OK?" he asked. She just nodded. "I'm cold, but they tell me this is necessary." He smiled, and rubbed her forehead with his hand. He sat there for a while with the washcloth, wiping her forehead, cheeks, neck, and chest. He used his free hand to rub relaxing circles around her head and neck. He did everything he could to relax her, and she nodded off once in a while. He told her to sleep if she could, but she said the cold was waking her up.

Finally, the water turned warm, and the couple sat together, lovingly. Kate was trying to sleep, but couldn't stop coughing and shaking, and Don was doing his best. He talked to her, gently, about anything he could think of; some movie he saw, a date they once had, Bendel, a joke he heard…happy things that he knew would make her smile. His voice was always able to lull her to sleep, just the calmness of it, the soothing tone, and his rubbing her head and neck made her relax so much more.

Flack finally realized he'd been there all afternoon, and that Bendel would have to eat soon and be let out. He didn't want to leave, and told Kate so.

"Go," she said in a weak, tired voice. "Go take care of our baby. I'm not going anywhere." She tried smiling, but was too weak, and it broke his heart. He kissed his hand, pressing it to her forehead, and went to leave. "I'll be back later," he promised. "I love you." She returned the sentiment, and he squeezed her hand, and left.


	3. Better

Over the next week, Kate had her bad days and her good days. Some days were so good that she was able to eat, sleep, shower, and take walks around the hospital – and one wheelchair race with Danny that got her reprimanded not only by hospital staff but by Don as well. However, some days were so terrible that she could barely lift her head off her pillow let alone get out of bed. Those were the days Don hated the most.

He couldn't stand to see Kate in so much pain, but he was there for her every day, good or bad. He even paid some kid that lived in their building to take care of Bendel so that Don didn't have to worry about him.

On the good days, Kate told Don many times to go home, get some sleep, see a movie…do something. But on bad days, she didn't have the energy, and though she wouldn't admit it, the bad days were the times she needed him the most. Just the fact that he would sit with her, hold her hand, hold a cold washcloth to her forehead, or even just talk and watch TV with her made all the world to her.

It had been a week since Kate was admitted to the hospital, and Don was walking to her room and was scared at how normal this seemed. He would check in with the nurses to see how she was doing, they'd give him a report, then he'd go in to see her, sometimes bringing food, sometimes not, depending on how she was feeling that day. This particular day, the report was that she had had a terrible night and still wasn't feeling that much better. Don practically ran into the room, and saw a nurse checking stuff – Don was never sure exactly what they did – and Kate lying in her bed, looking worse than he'd ever seen her.

"Hey baby," he greeted. "How are you today?" Instant tears came to her eyes. Don ran his hand over her forehead, and held her hand with his other one. "What's wrong?"

"It hurts," Kate said in a raspy voice.

Don turned to the nurse. "What's wrong with her voice?" he asked, obviously concerned.

The nurse, whose name was Lauren, sighed in an annoyed way. "She was up half the night screaming and crying," she explained to Don. "Seems it destroyed her voice."

Don turned to Kate. "Why didn't you call me?" he asked her. Tears fell from her eyes, and she rubbed her throat, hoping it would help. It didn't. "I tried," she said, softly, "They wouldn't let me." Don turned furiously to the nurse. "Why the hell wasn't I called?" he asked.

"Sir, visiting hours were over and there was nothing you could've done," Lauren said. "You don't have medical experience, you would've been able to help her."

"I told everyone I wanted to be notified if something happened. If she's in pain, I want to know about it. I can help her relax," Don insisted.

"Donnie," Kate whispered, tugging at his hand that was still wrapped in hers. He looked down at her instantly, still rubbing her forehead with his other hand. "I'm sorry. I wanted to be strong for you, but I just can't. It was so bad last night…" she started to cry again. Tears came to Don's eyes as well, he ran his hand alongside her face, brushing her hair, trying to calm her down. "Its OK," he said, "Its gonna be all right, ok? I wanna help you, your gonna be fine. Let me go talk to the nurse, hmm?" Kate nodded, trying to stop her crying. Don motioned for Lauren to follow him into the hall, and she sighed.

"Sir…" she began.

"I know you're doing your job," Don acknowledged. "But she's important to me, and I know I can calm her down. If she's ever in extreme pain again, call me. Even if I just talk to her over the phone, it might help. OK?"

Lauren sighed but nodded. "Yes, sir. We will call you."

Don thanked her, and went back into his girlfriend's room.

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Luckily, it was two days later when Kate felt better than she had felt in a long time. The doctors told Flack that if she kept it up for another day, she'd be free to go.

"Happy to get the hell out of here?" Flack asked her. She was sitting up in bed and she and Flack were playing gin rummy. After hearing his question, she had a huge smile on her face.

"Hell yes," she replied. "I'm so ready."

"What you wanna do when you're out?" Flack asked, smile on his face.

"Jesus, Donnie, you make it sound like I've been in prison."

"Far as I'm concerned, you have been. You ain't been home in two weeks. Bendel probably don't even recognize you anymore."

"You're just saying that to piss me off."

Flack laughed. "So really, what you wanna do?"

Kate let out a long breath, and thought about it. "I want a drink, I want to eat real food, and I want to have sex."

Flack looked at her. He should've expected her to be blunt. "I think I can handle that," he said. She smiled, and pronounced she had gin.


	4. Epilogue

**A week later…**

Don was laying in bed, half asleep, when he heard his girlfriend say something. "What?" he asked, not being awake enough to hear her.

"You yelled at me," she repeated, standing at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips.

Don looked confused. "When?"

"Before I was sick. You yelled at me for not answering my phone."

"You're just bringing that up now?" he asked.

"I just remembered. Don't yell at me again, or I'll kick your ass," Kate said.

Don sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry. OK? Now shhh, I had a long day and I'm going to sleep."

Kate obviously wasn't too impressed. She picked up a pillow and hit him with it. He groaned and she kept going at it until finally he wrapped his arms around her waist, pinning her to the bed. "What you wanna do that for?" he asked, hovering above her. She pouted. "You were ignoring me." Don smiled and leaned down to kiss her, but turned his head at the last second and kissed her collarbone. He made his way up to her ear and, feeling her heart racing from under him, whispered, "Play with your dog and leave me alone." Kate frowned and pushed him off her. "Jerk," she said, and walked off to the living room.

"Glad to have ya home, baby," Don called after her.

"Bite me!"

A/N: I know this was kind of short and pointless…but it's cute none the less. New Don/Kate story coming up soon. Thanks!!


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